Both the announcement by Micro$soft that it will keep the data of non-americans
out of (immediate) reach of the US authorities and the initiative launched
at the Davos WEF to set up a hi-level independant commission to look at Internet
governance after 'Snowden' are good news - and not that good news.

Starting with the latter, having a committee of foxes and cockerels to discuss
how to run the hen-house doesn't strike one at particularly helpful. But
OK, it's still a lot better than nothing at all. The really worrying issue
is that such committee is likely to look at all kinds of 'problems', advice
all kinds of more or less cosmetic 'solutions', and will studiously refrain
from poking at the elephant in the room: not the matter, but the purpose
of the wall-to-wall carpet of surveillance. Since the argument about 'terrorism'
has been irretriviably dented it's clear that it is the population at large
which is the target. Being upfront about the why won't come easily, even
though it is rather obvious.

Now for the good news: whatever you degree of cynicism, the panels are shifting,
and it's most probably 'shit's hit the fan' time in the offices of power
and business. And of breaking ranks, always a good sign of the former. Of
course, one can dismiss it all as eyewash, in which case, if you haven't
done so yet, get real really fast and do your bit to reclaim your 'technological
sovereignty'. And to embrace its less funky downside: you'll have to settle
for considerably less than you get from the commercials & proprietaries,
and worse still you'll have to pay - much more - for it.

But I think the real issue is about down-sizing 'at all levels and in all
departments', as they used to say in 1968 France. And I really mean at all
levels, everywhere, big time. May be something to think about. Before being
compelled to do so. In much less pleasant circumstances.

Most saluatory of study committees is that they allow selected hens to join
with the foxes to gloss the unchangable and, not least, wear foxskins at
Davos. Foxie Jamie Dimon gets a raise after a slap on the wrist by the hens
working closely with the fox conservancy to ruse citizenry.

The 9/11 Commission was composed of the usual mix of foxes pretending to
be hens and foxes, all with security clearances appropriate for foxhood,
and like all the other 9/11 investigations, classified the most hen-empowering
information "to protect the hens."

Obama promises to bring hens into the fox den to assure the foxes prevail
under laws of foxes. All given security clearances of foxhood to protect
the hens from information that would aid "threatening competing foxes."

PCLOB was composed of one hen, James Demspey, two foxes, and two foxes pretending
to be hens. All given security clearances of foxhood to protect the hens
from threatening competing foxes.

Podesta will set up a pride of foxes to assay how to fatten the hens with
big data before eating them. Hens will be assured privacy by free kernels
of corn released by automatic updates.

Davos WEF, all hyenas, will eat foxes, hens, rabbits and customers of the
great Internet hen house protected by security clearances, business
confidentiality, and copyright issued by the global fox conservancies.

The Snowden information foxes pretending to be hens are dripping, redacting,
withholding hen-empowering material to cause no harm to commercial publishers
and billionaire foxes and before all else "to protect the hens."

This is the foxhood agenda for Internet governance, at the beginning, now
and in the future. Smart hens are cackling with delirium at the irresistable
participation to hang out with, opine for and against, approvingly study
at high-level, gain grants and construction donations, with, from and by
their predators. Waste no time pretending to resist, set up a freedom of
information initiative to outfox the soon headless chickens.